As part of the redefinition of the area Porta Volta, Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli is relocating its seat to the northern center of Milan. Together with the building of Fondazione, the project includes the development of two further buildings, mainly dedicated to offices, and a generous green area as extensions of the existing boulevards. The urban organization of Porta Volta traces back to the course of the Mura Spagnole, the ancient 16th century city walls which were the last of a series of fortifications which have defined the city’s growing boundaries since Roman times. After the opening of the bastion in the late 19th century, Via Alessandro Volta acted as the new prominent axis which laid the basis for the city’s extension, growing from the two old Caselli Daziari di Porta that marked the former entrance to the city. To the sides of these buildings, the Edificio Feltrinelli and the Fondazione are placed along Viale Pasubio, and the Edificio Comune along Viale Montello – opposite to the axis of Via Alessandro Volta –, taking up the Milanese tradition of twin buildings and underlining the presence of the historical gate.
A narrow gap separates the Fondazione from the adjacent building, reflecting two autonomous constructions which are simultaneously part of an overall whole. The ground floor of the Fondazione accommodates the main entrance, cafeteria and book store, followed by the double height multi-functional space on the first floor, and an office area on both the third and fourth floors. The reading room on top of the Fondazione offers researchers and interested public the opportunity to study documents from the historical collection stored in the secure underground archive.
Besides the preservation of the Mura Spagnole’s archaeological remains, the concentration of mass endeavors to free up space for a public green area. The new edifices will house cafes, restaurants, and shops on street level, offering an area for interaction and recreation to the citizens.
The new buildings are inspired by the simplicity and generous scale of historic Milanese architecture as Ospedale Maggiore, Rotonda della Besana, Lazaretto and Castello Sforzesco, and also by the long, linear Cascina buildings of the rural architecture in Lombardy. Similarly, the project proposes an elongated and narrow architecture where the roof melts into the facades. The structure is rotated, expressing the geometrical conditions of the site, and balances between transparency and spatial definition. Facade, structure and space form an integrated whole.
Project 2008-2011Realization 2011-2016
Strengthening and Reinforcing the City
The overall masterplan for Porta Volta holds an important strategic potential for creating a positive impact on the surrounding area, due to its important urban dimension. As part of the redefinition of the area Porta Volta, Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli intends to relocate its seat to the northern centre of Milan, considered as an ideal environment for the foundation’s multiple activities. Together with the building of Fondazione, the project includes the development of two further buildings, mainly dedicated to offices, and a generous green area as extensions of the existing boulevards.
A Site Steeped in History
The historical analysis of the site drove the evolution of the design proposal. The urban organisation of Porta Volta traces back to the course of the Mura Spagnole, the ancient 16th century city walls which were the last of a series of fortifications which since Roman times have defined the city’s growing boundaries. After the opening of the bastion in the late 19th century, Via Alessandro Volta laid the basis for the city’s extension outside the ancient walls, connecting as a new, prominent urban axis the historical centre with Cimitero Monumentale. Today, the emptiness of the site is a testament to the walls and, at the same time, reminds one of the destructions this area has suffered during the Second World War.
A Gate as Point of Reference within the City Together with a series of preserved gates, the two Caselli Daziari di Porta Volta offer an important reference point within the Milanese city plan. The allocation of Edificio Feltrinelli and the Fondazione along Viale Pasubio and the allocation of Edificio Comune along Viale Montello opposite the axis Via Alessandro Volta underline this historical gate, taking up the Milanese tradition of twin buildings as in Piazza Duomo, Piemonte or Duca D’Aosta.
Besides the preservation of the Mura Spagnole’s archaeological remains, the concentration of building mass endeavours to create a generous public green area as extensions of the existing boulevards. On the street level, the new edifices will house cafes, restaurants, and shops, offering an area for interaction and recreation to the citizens.
A House for the Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli
A narrow gap separates the Fondazione from the adjacent building, reflecting two autonomous constructions which are simultaneously part of an overall whole. The ground floor of the Fondazione accommodates the main entrance, cafeteria and book store, followed by the double height multi-functional space on the first floor, and an office area on both the third and fourth floors. The reading room on top of the Fondazione offers researchers and interested public the opportunity to study documents from the historical collection stored in the secure underground archive.
A Milanese Project: Scale, Structure and Repetition
The new buildings are inspired by the simplicity and generous scale of historic Milanese architecture as Ospedale Maggiore, Rotonda della Besana, Lazaretto and Castello Sforzesco. They are also inspired by the long, linear Cascina buildings of traditional rural architecture in Lombardy, which already were an important reference in Aldo Rossi’s work, for instance his residential building in Gallaratese.
This is why we propose an elongated and narrow architecture which in a vaguely figurative way introduces a roof which melts into the facades. The structure expresses the geometrical conditions of the site in a rotation of its members and balances between transparency and spatial definition. Façade, structure and space form an integrated whole.
The redefinition of Porta Volta will intrinsically be a Milanese Project, taking up themes of Milanese urbanism and architecture, which through the course of history have led to a series of emblematic buildings for which the City of Milan is renowned.
Herzog & de Meuron, 2016
The Porta Volta area is a historical landmark in Milan, and its urban structure reflects the chronology of growth of the Lombard capital until it became the most important city in northern Italy. The ancient 15th century walls that defined the city’s boundaries, known as Mura Spagnole, traced an angle that was opened up in the late 19th century to give way to Via Alessandro Volta, a new axis linking the historical center with the cemetery, and which laid the basis for the city’s extension outside the walls. The new path to the northwest was configured by the Caselli Daziari, two adjacent structures that are today the only testimonies of the existence of the gate, while the urban fabric is an indirect reflection of the layout of the old walls. The project for the construction of the new headquarters of the Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli on this site expresses a special commitment with the historical dimension of the place, with a strategic potential for creating a positive impact on the area.
The overall master plan for Porta Volta includes two new office buildings, the foundation’s headquarters and a generous public green area. The whole program is concentrated in narrow structures along the two axes that emerge from the Caselli Daziari and extend along the side streets, emphasizing the directionality of the urban fabric towards the old gate and revealing the traces of the old wall. Furthermore, the concentration of building mass minimizes the impact on the archaeological remains of the walls and frees up space for gardens that extend the existing boulevards.
While the layout of the new buildings addresses the historical context, the buildings formally are also inspired by qualities of Milanese architecture. The traditional rural constructions of the region of Lombardy, the long and linear Cascine buildings, are an important reference. A structural section in which the steeply sloping roofs melt into the facades reinterprets the local type as diaphragms that are repeated along the axes – not perpendicular to them, but parallel to the Caselli Daziari and Via Alessandro Volta – and enclosed with transparent glass. Facade, structure and space form an integrated whole.
The ground floors of the buildings, in contact with the boulevards, accommodate retail areas, generating in this way an active green area, while the second and third floors contain offices.
Filippo Romano
Strengthening and Reinforcing the City
The overall masterplan for Porta Volta holds an important strategic potential for creating a positive impact on the surrounding area, due to its important urban dimension. As part of the redefinition of the area Porta Volta, Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli intends to relocate its seat to the northern centre of Milan, considered as an ideal environment for the foundation’s multiple activities. Together with the building of Fondazione, the project includes the development of two further buildings, mainly dedicated to offices, and a generous green area as extensions of the existing boulevards.
Filippo Romano
A Site Steeped in History
The historical analysis of the site drove the evolution of the design proposal. The urban organisation of Porta Volta traces back to the course of the Mura Spagnole, the ancient 16th century city walls which were the last of a series of fortifications which since Roman times have defined the city’s growing boundaries. After the opening of the bastion in the late 19th century, Via Alessandro Volta laid the basis for the city’s extension outside the ancient walls, connecting as a new, prominent urban axis the historical centre with Cimitero Monumentale. Today, the emptiness of the site is a testament to the walls and, at the same time, reminds one of the destructions this area has suffered during the Second World War.
Filippo Romano
A Gate as Point of Reference within the City
Together with a series of preserved gates, the two Caselli Daziari di Porta Volta offer an important reference point within the Milanese city plan. The allocation of Edificio Feltrinelli and the Fondazione along Viale Pasubio and the allocation of Edificio Comune along Viale Montello opposite the axis Via Alessandro Volta underline this historical gate, taking up the Milanese tradition of twin buildings as in Piazza Duomo, Piemonte or Duca D’Aosta.
Filippo Romano
Besides the preservation of the Mura Spagnole’s archaeological remains, the concentration of building mass endeavours to create a generous public green area as extensions of the existing boulevards. On the street level, the new edifices will house cafes, restaurants, and shops, offering an area for interaction and recreation to the citizens.
Filippo Romano
A House for the Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli
A narrow gap separates the Fondazione from the adjacent building, reflecting two autonomous constructions which are simultaneously part of an overall whole. The ground floor of the Fondazione accommodates the main entrance, cafeteria and book store, followed by the double height multi-functional space on the first floor, and an office area on both the third and fourth floors. The reading room on top of the Fondazione offers researchers and interested public the opportunity to study documents from the historical collection stored in the secure underground archive.
Filippo Romano
A Milanese Project: Scale, Structure and Repetition
The new buildings are inspired by the simplicity and generous scale of historic Milanese architecture as Ospedale Maggiore, Rotonda della Besana, Lazaretto and Castello Forzesco. They are also inspired by the long, linear Cascina buildings of traditional rural architecture in Lombardy, which already were an important reference in Aldo Rossi’s work, for instance his residential building in Gallaratese.
Filippo Romano
This is why we propose an elongated and narrow architecture which in a vaguely figurative way introduces a roof which melts into the facades. The structure expresses the geometrical conditions of the site in a rotation of its members and balances between transparency and spatial definition. Façade, structure and space form an integrated whole.
Filippo Romano
The redefinition of Porta Volta will intrinsically be a Milanese Project, taking up themes of Milanese urbanism and architecture, which through the course of history have led to a series of emblematic buildings for which the City of Milan is renowned.
Text from Herzog & de Meuron, 2016
HERZOG & DE MEURON
“The redefinition of Porta Volta holds an important strategic potential for creating a positive impact on the entire surrounding area. In that sense, this undertaking by a private client – the Feltrinelli Group – has an important urban dimension, strengthening and reinforcing the City of Milan.The intervention in Porta Volta will intrinsically be a Milanese Project. With their scale, structure and repetition and being conceived as twin buildings, the new edifices are taking up themes of Milanese urbanism and architecture, which through the course of history have led to a series of emblematic buildings for which the City of Milan is widely renowned and admired.” Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron“Depending on the location of the observer, the building appears as a stone monolith or as a slender skeletal frame. When looking along the Viale Pasubio, which runs parallel to the building, the façade closes and forms a clearly defined street space together with the opposite building from the late 19th century. Whereas if you look at the facade frontally, the structure dissolves and creates a spatial connection between the street and the park behind the building.” Andreas Fries (Partner in Charge)